State Stories

2014 Boys & Girls Golf

October 15, 2014

The 2014 IHSA Girls & Boys Golf State Finals will unfold on Friday and Saturday, October 17-18, in Decatur and Bloomington respectively, with each competitor playing 18 holes each day.

CLASS A GIRLS
Class A will crown a new team state champion in 2014, as defending state champ Nashville will not be back in the field this year. The other Top 5 teams from a year ago return however, including runner-up Rochester, 2012 state champ Massac County (3rd), Eldorado (4th) and Morton (5th).

Charleston (8th as a team in 2013) returns to state behind Lauren Chappel, who won the Class A individual crown a year ago as a freshman (141). With a repeat performance, Chappel can become the 9th player in state history to claim multiple individual medalist honors.
Her top competition could come from Eldorado’s senior twin tandem of Ashton and Taylor Goodley. Ashton finished tied for 9th overall individually a year ago with a 157, while Taylor’s 71 at the Zeigler-Royalton Sectional was the top Sectional score in the state. Massac County returns a wealth of experience from last year’s team as well, including senior standout Paige Ellerbusch.

Rochester junior Morgan Savage, who teams with junior Gabby Isaacks for a formidable 1-2 punch, finished eight shots off the pace a year ago at state, as her 149 was good for third-place individually. Cuba senior Lexi Petersen is an individual qualifier once again in 2014 and looks to break into the Top 10 after tying for 11th in the state last year (161). Petersen was a Sectional champ (73) this season, as were seniors Sarah Maddox from Reed-Custer (74) and Callie Raders from Lena-Winslow (82).

Althoff Catholic posted the top Sectional team score in the state (325) and hopes it can turn that momentum into its first team state championship. Bloomington Central Catholic joined Althoff, Morton and Rochester as Sectional team champions in 2014.

CLASS AA GIRLS
Eight of the 12 team state qualifiers, including four of the Top 5, from a year ago will be back at Hickory Point for the Class AA finals in 2014. Prospect returns to defend its state title after edging Loyola by nine strokes a year ago. Also returning are Hinsdale Central (3rd) and New Trier (4th), the latter of whom won state titles in 2010 and 2012.
Senior Isabella Flack (79 at 2014 Sectionals) has taken a leadership role for Prospect in 2014, while Loyola returns a trio of players with state final experience, including juniors Nicole Wetoska (81) and Blake Yaccino (81).

Alton and Maine South enter the state finals with the momentum of Sectional team titles as well, while Sandburg (11th in 2013) may be the field’s most experienced team with five returnees from a year ago.
Most of the Top 10 individual leaderboard spots were occupied by seniors a year ago, with the exception of first- and second-place.

Neuqua Valley junior Jessica Yuen (142) is back as an individual qualifier to try and win another individual state title, while last year’s runner-up, Waubonsie Valley senior Bing Singhsumale (146), has led her team to state in 2014 after carding the best Sectional score in the state this year (66). St. Charles North’s Kate Lillie notched a Top 20 individual state performance as a freshman last year and followed with Sectional medalist honors (69) this season, while Guilford freshman Madasyn Pettersen (73) and Limestone junior Amanda Greenan (77) rounded out the 2014 Class AA individual Sectional winners.

CLASS 1A BOYS
On paper, the Class 1A field appears to be shaping up for what could be an epic showdown between defending state champ El Paso-Gridley and 2013 runner-up North Shore Country Day, who won the state championship in 2011 and 2012 (when El Paso-Gridley finished second). Both squads return four regulars from a year ago who shot 85 or better at Sectionals in 2014, including El Paso-Gridley senior Michael Mounce (73 at 2014 Sectional) and Country Day senior Andrew Blechman (77).

Byron is glad that the state title will be decided on the course and not on paper, as the Tigers return senior standout and Sectional champ Dennis Reedy (70) from last year’s third-place team. Pleasant Plains looks poised to improve on last year’s 11th place finish, as four returnees helped the Cardinals to a Sectional team crown this season, while Nashville returns as a team after winning a Sectional title as well.

Eureka’s Trevor Gold could be considered the favorite in the individual field, as the senior’s 146 at the state finals last year was one shot off the pace of the eventual state champion. Decatur Lutheran’s Hunter York was just two shots behind Gold last year, as he tied for third with a 148. Reedy, Gold and York all won individual Sectional titles this year, while Gibault Catholic senior Sam Range, an individual qualifier, rounded out the individual 2014 Sectional winners in Class 1A.

CLASS 2A BOYS
The Class 2A state final landscape has a different feel in 2014 with most of the qualifying team field from a year ago turning over. Only two of 12 teams from 2013 return, as Glenbard South and Wheaton St. Francis qualified after placing sixth and eighth, respectively, a year ago. Both have multiple returnees from last year, including Glenbard South junior Russell Matos (Sectional champion, 73) and St. Francis senior Sean Doherty (77), and both won Sectional team titles this season.

Galesburg senior Jackson Wetherbee (70) recorded a Top 15 individual finish at state last year and helped lead the Silver Streaks to state as a team (Class 2A top Sectional score of 302) this season by winning Sectional medalist honors.

Mattoon is another new qualifier in 2014, as the Green Wave won a team Sectional crown behind the play of senior Luke Owen (79).
Althoff Catholic and Richmond-Burton also join the team field in 2014 behind the play of individual Sectional champs in junior Matthew McCarthy (72) and senior Jordan Hahn (70), respectively. Hahn is the top individual returnee in the field after placing third last year. East Peoria junior David Perkins also returns as an individual qualifier. Perkins led the field with a 68 on Friday last year, before ultimately finishing fourth with an 80 on day two. Dunlap junior Ethan Uken is another Top 10 individual returnee from last year after carding a 153.

CLASS 3A BOYS
Only four of the 12 teams who were a part of the Class 3A team field a year ago are back to compete again this weekend, but two names loom large in that of two-time defending state champ Hinsdale Central and 2013 runner-up New Trier.

Hinsdale Central returns junior Kenneth Li (74 at Sectionals) and sophomore Brandon O’Reilly (68), who placed 2nd and tied for 11th, respectively, last season and helped the Red Devils to a Sectional title this year. Meanwhile, New Trier counters with two standouts of its own in seniors Jack Junge (76, 16th in 2013) and Will Connelly (81, 21st in 2013).

Glenbrook North can’t be overlooked, as the Spartans return four scoring players from last year’s fourth-place squad. Four North players shot 79 or better at Sectionals this year, including senior Tyler Mulier.

Normal Community placed ninth last year behind a young squad that returns five regulars this season and appears poised to move up the leaderboard in 2014. Providence Catholic and Loyola both brought Sectional team titles back to the Chicago Catholic League this season, while 2010 and 2011 state champ Lake Forest claimed the final Sectional title this year. Both Loyola and Lake Forest were paced by individual Sectional medalists in freshman Bennett Cotton (71) and senior Quinn Gaughan (70), respectively.

Whitney Young senior Connor Dore is back as an individual qualifier and looking to challenge for state medalist honors after placing fourth a year ago, while Lyons senior John Hudson (68) and Pekin senior Drake Bushong (69) both enter the state tournament having won their respective Sectionals.